The Consolidated "Coke? Soda? Pop? Or?" thread
 

Since the earliest research into the the English Language as spoken in North America was begun by Noah Webster in the early 18th century, the regional variations in dialect have always been the most challenging and difficult to explain field. Since the development of carbonated beverage in 1886, one of linguistic geography's most important and least investigated phenomena has been the sharp regional divisions in the use of the terms "pop" and "soda."

http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~almccon/pop_soda/

Coke

ETA: Grew up in Dallas, and that's what everybody calls it.

[This message has been edited by robb (edited 09-13-2002).]

Isn't it Sodapop?

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I have noticed in the on the west coast of US people call it soda

In the mid west they call it pop

Rarely, do I ever hear it called sodapop and longer.

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they call it soda here, too and do I get some strange comments when I say "I'd like a pop, please." Guess I am lucky no one has taken a swing at me ...

Texas is coming out at 80% who say "Coke," CA is showing 73% say "Soda." So, our perceptions are bearing out so far.

See the stats page.

Is no one from New England, where we use proper terminology?

The correct term is tonic.

If I said to you, "would you like a soda."
I would be meaning a Coke, Pepsi, Dr Pepper, Sprite. If I only had Coke I would say, "would you like a Coke."

If I were to order a vodka and soda, that would be Club Soda.

Tonic and Soda are completely different

Just ask someone who orders a Vodka and Tonic and gets a Vodka and Soda.



[This message has been edited by wingless (edited 09-13-2002).]

Where I come from (Canada) pop means Coke, Pepsi, 7UP, Tab...etc. It's never been called soda IIRC.

Soda refers to soda water here...as in a vodka soda.

[This message has been edited by Carioca Canuck (edited 09-13-2002).]

And growing up in Ft. Worth, we would have seen nothing unusual about the following:

"Would you like a coke?"

"Yes"

"What kind of coke?"

"A Dr. Pepper."

Not here in the same back-asswards corner of the world that brought you "Candlepin Bowling".

Tonic covers ALL types of soda here in NE. Not only do we have "Funny Accents", we have funny terminology.

In New Jersey growing up, "soda" was seltzer"

Coke was a soft drink you could enjoy.
An doanju say nuttin about accents frum Joisey.

(exit 136, in case anyone wanted to ask)

Of course now I live in the nicest part of New Jersey - Connecticut

Around here, using "Coke" as a generic is quite acceptable for any sort of carbonated soft drink. Anecdotally, I would say that "Soda" is common, too.

If you mentioned "Pop" you'd probably be talking about your father.

Now think what that would mean in certain crowds, say, in shall we say "high traffic" area hehehe http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...um/biggrin.gif

As a New Mexico native I can relate, but I often answered that question with "A Coke coke".

I guess I'm linguistically confused. I grew up in Kansas saying "pop," went to school in Utah where I continued saying it, but spent a summer in NYC where I felt like such a rube that I switched to "soda." I still say it now that I'm back in SLC. However, I would say "Coke machine" or "pop machine," not "soda machine." A lot of people here seem to use the generic "drink" to mean a nonalcoholic, sweetened (usu carbonated) beverage, as in, "let's go to 7-11 and get a drink" (insert your Utah liquor joke here http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif). My nephew born & raised here always wants a "drink" from the Coke machine, not a soda/pop/Coke, etc.

I grew up in Michigan where we always called it pop. Soda was what you made when you put ice cream in a glass with pop....like a float. To escape ridicule when I moved to California I quickly changed to calling all carbonated beverages sodas. When in Rome.....

I am from New England and I do not call it Tonic. My sister does, and when she says that I always make fun of her.
I call everything Diet Coke...cause...well...that is all I drink. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif

Tonic use to be called Quinine. If you go to your local bar the button the bartender pushes is "Q" for tonic and "C" is for Coke.

Now Soda (as in Club Soda) is basically carbonated water with no flavor and is the "S" on the bar gun.

I know my grandfather still calls it sodapop (in Missouri) and I think that is what they called it when it was first introduced. I am sure we got lazy and some called it soda and some called it pop.

It will remain one of lifes great mysteries. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...um/biggrin.gif

Exactly, I thought of this thread today when I was picking up lunch for someone and asked "Do you want a coke?" and then I asked "What do you want?" (meaning, what kind of soft drink would you like me to get?)

Nowadays, I always ask for a "Coca-Cola" as I have found that it greatly increases the chance that a waiter/waitress will tell you if they only have Pepsi (devil-water).

I grew up in Mississippi, where all soft drinks were "Coke." My best friend used to drink "grape cokes." This, of course, was a grape pop (specifically, a "NuGrape"), not a Coca Cola with grape flavoring added.

I also grew up in Fort Worth and also call all sodas "coke". If I want a Coca-Cola, I also say "a Coke coke".

Aren't regional things funny? I also say (and I hate it but can't break the habit) fixin' to (as in "I'm fixin' to go get a coke") and y'all.

I do not, however (despite what several FTers have insisted) have a southern drawl. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...um/biggrin.gif

I guess I have been working too long in F&B.

If you have no idea what F&B is ask a friend.

I'll say the brand coke, diet coke, or diet pepsi. When it comes to vending machines, I say soda machine.

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axicano= A Chicano
Austin,TX Live Music Capitol of the World

Exactly the same experience I had growing up in TN.

These days I refer to it all as soda

F&B is like an elite fraternity... I miss those days sometimes.

When I was a kid in New Jersey, all the kids would play stickball with little rubber balls that they called "Spalldeens".

Being a rational 8-year old, I questioned this. First of all, the name of the company that made the ball was "Spalding". Secondly, most of the balls weren't even made by "Spalding" (just the expensive, 29 cent ones, not the more common 19 cent ones).

When I explained this to the great unwashed, I was dismissed as a heretic. Even when I pointed out the spelling "Spalding", this was greeted with disbelief.

Then, I realized the truth. They were just stupid.

By the same token, anyone who refers to any soda/pop/sodapop/soft drink as "Coke" is just stupid. These people must be stopped. Certainly, they must not be permitted to breed.

I grew up in Iowa where we called "it" Pop as in "I would like a purple pop" then I moved to WI as a kid and got teased terribly for my Iowaism's so switched to Soda.

In Chicago, we say pop, but "soda" will get you what you want too.

I went to school in Ecuador and found that "cola" meant "pop." I guess that's how they came up with Inca Kola, which isn't cola at all. I also found out that regular cola was cheap and "cola de Guayaquil," (i.e., cola from the big city, i.e., Pepsi, Coca or "Seven" - 7-Up) was more expensive.

Au contraire. This is a gift that must be preserved. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by gsw (edited 09-14-2002).]

I use the generic term "soft drink" unless I want a specific brand, such as Pepsi, or Dr. Pepper, or a specific color such as orange soda or red pop. Usually when I think of soda, I think of an ice cream soda.

What's funny is that we fly people from all over into Tulsa for training and this always comes up. I use the soda / pop / sodapopop / coke / soft drink issue to bring the diverse group together a bit. Thumper made me smile because I just had a student from New Jersey ask my VP (who is from NJ as well) "what exit?". These regionalisms are plain fun for me. BTW, it's pop in Tulsa. Says so right on the cash register receipt from Frank's, home of the 100 item bodacious buffett.

The answer to "Is Pepsi ok?" is unprintable. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/wink.gif In ATL, the only correct answer is COKE!

So what's the problem with that http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/wink.gif ?

While we're on Texas linguistics, how widespread beyond Texas was the verb tump ? As in, "Ya'll better be careful, or you'll tump over that coke."

I actually wasn't aware this was a Texas-only sort of thing. I got funny looks for "y'all", "fixin' to", and "do what?", but I don't recall getting funny looks for "tump."

This reminds me of how much I love to see such distinctly Texas things on episodes of King of the Hill. I howled with delight at Bobby's elation when Bobby found that the high school had Taco Bueno! I knew exactly how he felt.

I also remember my boyfriend watching an episode with me, and he actually stopped and asked "why aren't those children wearing coats on halloween?" It had never occurred to me that children would have to do that. Poor Yankees http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/frown.gif

HUH??? What's "tump"? I used to have a Texas dictionary & I'm "fixin to" go look for it right now!

It seems to be a verb used orally that often has "over" following. It seems to be used when a vessel or container is upset, and often has liquid involved -- either what is going to be spilled or that which is going to be spilled into. ("We got tumped over into the water")

You know, when "new Coke" (which tasted sweeter, like Pepsi) was tested, it did much better in blind taste tests than "Coke Classic." (Pepsi also did much better in the taste tests.) However, when Coke rolled it out, no one liked it - not because they didn't like the taste, but because of the nostalgia associated with the classic Coke flavor.

So, after that, when I hear people talk negatively about Pepsi, I'm a little skeptical.

Here's an article that describes this:

http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/newcoke.asp

d

[This message has been edited by Doppy (edited 09-15-2002).]

First of all I am amazed that this thread still is alive. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif

Second, what does tump mean?